tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698059.post112199484971620544..comments2016-09-08T09:42:42.288-04:00Comments on The Mumpsimus: Currently Reading (and reading and reading)Matthew Cheneyhttps://plus.google.com/109233497006166204043noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698059.post-1122328674851021132005-07-25T17:57:00.000-04:002005-07-25T17:57:00.000-04:00Climbers contains my favourite line of distilled H...<I>Climbers</I> contains my favourite line of distilled Harrisonism more or less ever, I think: 'Spring again, and there was a strong smell of burning plastic by the ring road.'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698059.post-1122091036448477022005-07-22T23:57:00.000-04:002005-07-22T23:57:00.000-04:00Yes, Climbers is mainstream. I found it a tough r...Yes, <I>Climbers</I> is mainstream. I found it a tough read, because I'm just not interested enough in the basic subject of rock climbing. But it sets out a lot of Harrison's recurring ideas of desire and fantasy within an environment different enough from his other books to make some of the echoes interesting. Neil Gaiman told me last year that he thought <I>Climbers</I> is the key to understanding a lot of Harrison's work after it, and so I ordered a copy from a used bookstore in England. I think it's been reprinted recently over there, but I don't think it's ever had, or is likely to have, a U.S. publication, which is a shame.Matthew Cheneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07704529564308222004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698059.post-1122073872735514112005-07-22T19:11:00.000-04:002005-07-22T19:11:00.000-04:00Actually, I read "Isobel Avens..." after finishing...Actually, I read "Isobel Avens..." after finishing <I>Signs of Life</I>, which had left me disappointed. The story seemed a condensation of the best scenes of the book, without a lot of superfluous stuff and, as I said, the new characters. Possibly the book suffered because it was the first Harrison I'd read after <I>Light</I>. They're such different books, and <I>Light</I> was so very good, that it would have been hard not to be disappointed.<BR/><BR/>I didn't know that about <I>The Course of the Heart</I>. It's on my reading list, but unless I come across <I>Anima</I> in a local bookstore (I was lucky enough to find SoL in a used bookstore, but I don't expect that to happen twice) I'll probably buy the US edition when it comes out in paperback. I did end up buying <I>Light</I> here in Israel, so I suppose there's hope.<BR/><BR/>If it makes any difference, I would really like to hear what you have to say about the four Harrison novels. I have a vague memory of seeing <I>Climbers</I> in a bookstore once. It's more of a mainstream novel, isn't it?Abigail Nussbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08562462228380637583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698059.post-1122036109915292192005-07-22T08:41:00.000-04:002005-07-22T08:41:00.000-04:00I did read "Isobel Avens...", but it was after rea...I did read "Isobel Avens...", but it was after reading <I>Signs of Life</I>, which probably affected how I read it. I liked it, but having already experienced the additions of the novel, there was no way I could think of it as anything other than a reduction. I think if I'd read the story first, I would have had similar feelings as you did toward the novel, because in general I like Harrison's short stories better than his novels.<BR/><BR/>Actually, <I>Course of the Heart</I> is an expansion of "The Great God Pan", which I did read before I read the novel, and there I felt the novel was an improvement, because I found the characters so fascinating. Often repulsive, but fascinating. (Harrison is not a writer you can read if you demand that main characters be likeable...)<BR/><BR/>The ideal omnibus would collect four of Harrison's books: these two, plus <I>Climbers</I> and <I>Light</I> on either side of them. I still intend sometime before the heat death of the universe to write an essay about how all four books enhance and harmonize with each other, but writing two paragraphs about one book has taken me this long, so writing thousands of words about four of Harrison's books is an endeavor I may not live to finish.Matthew Cheneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07704529564308222004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5698059.post-1122029900381183192005-07-22T06:58:00.000-04:002005-07-22T06:58:00.000-04:00Have you read the short story Signs of Life was ba...Have you read the short story <I>Signs of Life</I> was based on, Matthew? It's called "Isobel Avens Returns to Stepney in the Spring" and it was available online from Infinity Plus last time I checked. In my opinion, it's a much stronger work than the novel turned out to be. There's something mannered and overworked about SoL - a style that works in a novella but doesn't quite in a novel. Also, I deeply disliked to two new characters - China's friend and his girlfriend whose names escape me - and didn't feel they added too much to the story.Abigail Nussbaumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08562462228380637583noreply@blogger.com